McCANDLESS, Pa. - La Roche men's basketball defeated Alfred St. at the Kerr Saturday afternoon in their final regular season game, 80-67. Seniors Darrell Barron, Torry Hawkins, Darius Lawrence, Luke McDonough and Kennedy Smith were recognized prior to the start of the game. All of them contributed in today's victory.
LRU tied their season-high with 15 made three pointers on 31 attempts (48.4%), marking the fourth time this season they have shot 45% or better from deep. Four Redhawks hit multiple triples led by Darius Lawrence who shot 4 of 5 (80%) from beyond the arc. Lawrence finished with a game-high 18 points and contributed four assists, a steal and a block while shooting 67% (6-9) from the floor.
Junior forward Tyler Frederick posted 16 points, seven rebounds two assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench.
Senior guard Kennedy Smith added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Seniors Darrell Barron, Luke McDonough and Torry Hawkins all started today's contest and combined for 15 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four assists.
The Redhawks are 53-3 in AMCC regular season play over the last three seasons, winning at least sixteen games each year. La Roche's nineteen conference wins in 2019-20 are their most ever in a single season.
Final: La Roche: 80, Alfred St: 67
Records: La Roche (19-6, AMCC: 19-1), Alfred St. (6-18, AMCC: 4-15)
How it Happened
Senior Torry Hawkins started off the game by drilling a 3-PT off an assist from fellow Senior Kennedy Smith. After the Pioneers drained together back-to-back buckets to bring the game within three points halfway through the first, La Roche went off on a 16-2 run and led 28-11 with 3:59 to go.
Alfred St. responded by stringing together a 14-5 run at the end of the first to make it an eight points game heading into the break. Seven Redhawks scored in the first half of today's contest.
To start the second, Darius Lawrence hit three straight triples, all assisted by different Redhawks. LRU built their lead back up to twenty within the first four minutes of the half.
Then, it was a highlight show. Luke McDonough provided a couple monster blocks, Freshmen Jioni Smith and Joe Pipilo dished out a few slick dimes and Tyler Frederick slammed home two big time dunks. La Roche led by double-digits for the majority of the second.
Inside the Box Score
Luke McDonough tied his career-high with four blocks and also provided seven rebounds, five points and an assist. McDonough is the only Redhawk to start all 25 games this season.
As a unit, La Roche recorded 21 assists on 31 field goals, just the second time this season they have gone for 20 or more assists in a game.
LRU led for the entirety of today's game, leading by as many as 25 points in the second half.
Alfred St. edged out La Roche on the glass, 34-33.
The Redhawks committed a season-high 19 turnovers and allowed the Pionners to score 21 points off those mishaps.
Alfred St.'s Ryan Gentile was the only Pioneers to finish in double-digit figures. He tied Lawrence with a game-high 18 points.
NEXT UP: Men's basketball will receive a first round bye in the AMCC Championship tournament and play in a semi-final game at the Kerr Fitness Center on Friday, February 28th at noon.